


Easy

by Merile



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emma is in love Regina is oblivious and Hook laughs at them both, Emma is sad, F/F, F/M, Idiots in Love, The Dark Swan - Freeform, it might have a happy ending, the dark one - Freeform, the extra title of the fic: 15 minutes late with starbucks, theres some captain/swan but in strictly platonic/fuckbuddies kind of sense, well kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 11:16:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12816339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merile/pseuds/Merile
Summary: It's a simple choice: to go for something else instead. For someone else. So she goes for Hook; learns how to love him, learns how to handle him. Snow always says that there's no happiness without love, no future without a partner and maybe, well, maybe Emma takes it a bit too personally.She doesn’t feel particularly happier, but then again, she doesn't feel much worse; he's a good companion, someone to talk to when everyone is busy. Someone who gets her a bit too well sometimes, smiles like he knew everything, scoffs at the very notion of the true love between them.They might not be each other's first choices, but they're each other's good enough second options.[aka. Emma's looking at Regina for prolonged periods of time and Hook giggles like an asshole he is]





	Easy

Regina Mills looks at her as if she mattered, and Emma cannot quite grasp it. 

The truth is, she completely doesn't get it. 

Between the two of them, Regina is the better one, the one who fought longer, who went through more, the one who truly deserve all the happiness. The one who wants to protect everything that's dear to her, who south for power because of the one time she couldn't; the smarter one, the more organised one, someone who actually sometimes seem to have her life together, full of love for her son and home-made meals. 

Emma is-- well. Emma is kind of a disaster. 

At this point in her life, she's used to that thought, happy that it's Regina Henry took after the most. The kid is smart - smarter than Emma will ever be - and has a loving heart, something you cannot just magic, something that comes from the love you were given. Emma learns all of that pretty quickly; their son is the most important thing in the entire universe and whereas Regina's love is basically endless (however she might want to deny it), there is no way she could actually love Emma Swan. 

Like her, yeah. Care about her like you would care about the other parent of your child, sure. Sometimes maybe pity or smile over Emma's silliness. But it doesn't get much better than that. 

She'd okay with it. She really, really is. 

It's a simple choice: to go for something else instead. For someone else. So she goes for Hook; learns how to love him, learns how to handle him. Snow always says that there's no happiness without love, no future without a partner and maybe, well, maybe Emma takes it a bit too personally.  
She doesn’t feel particularly happier, but then again, she doesn't feel much worse; he's a good companion, someone to talk to when everyone is busy. Someone who gets her a bit too well sometimes, smiles like he knew everything, scoffs at the very notion of the true love between them. 

They might not be each other's first choices, but they're each other's good enough second options. 

"I bet my ass - gods, I bet yours ass as well - that your queen there is rigid jealous" he says at some point, a bit too drunk, his mouth at her ear. Emma doesn't dare to look up at Regina, because every option imaginable would be heart-breaking, because Regina can either stare at them or not look at all and Emma is not ready for this truth just yet. Most probably, though, most probably she's with Robin. "Or she most certainly would, if I told her that--" 

"I'm going to kill you with my bare hands if you tell her anything" Emma mumbles and Hook laughs as if she just said the best joke in the world. From the other side of the restaurant, Regina glimpses at them almost offended. 

"I might take you on that offer, luv" ,Killian replies and Emma punches him in the arm. So she's unhappily in love and his love is dead; and somehow they work. How, she's not sure. 

.

"Do you think Robin does the same to her?" Killian asks sometimes, when he decides to be an asshole after all, his fingers tracing down her spine just to distract her. 

"I hate you" she would answer on a good day. 

"You keep that up and I will kill you" she would say, her teeth gritted, on another. 

"Probably" she would whisper sometimes, not looking at anything. Yet she can't stop thinking about Regina, about how her body would arch, about the full lips and eyes way too observant, about the long fingers and-

"You're pathetic, Swan" Killian laughs next to her. 

"At least I don't fantasize about someone who's dead."  
Hook laughs even lauder. 

.

They go like this, not talking about obvious facts, not looking each other in the eyes for too long. But Regina is happy, her eyes sparkling when she looks at Robin and Emma cannot help but smile at this sight, at how the woman relaxes a little bit when the thief is around, how she seems to ease into him. It's a good thing to see; Emma meant to give her a happy ending and there she was, a happy ending indeed. 

So easy to be the Saviour, really. 

All it takes is to sacrifice your soul for your best friends, no strings attached. Because she does that, eventually, because it is the simplest option to a situation way too complicated. Or maybe just because she made a promise long time ago and she cannot see Regina's happiness shatter just like that. She cannot just stand there, doing nothing. 

There's question in Regina's eyes, there's fear and anger, and something Emma cannot quite put her finger on. There's not too much time to think though, so she just smiles and closes her eyes, letting the darkness drag her in, close around her. It's okay, she thinks, because at least Robin's arms are tight around Regina.

It's going to be fine.

It feels almost good. She closes her eyes and lets the magic pull her in. It doesn't even hurt. In a way, the darkness seems almost comforting; voices calling her name, dark arms wrapping around her. She doesn't fight it, just lets herself go; a sacrifice is a sacrifice after all, there's no point in fighting. 

When she opens her eyes again, she's in the forest in the middle of nowhere and the air smells like not from her realm; too clean, too full of magic. Emma can feel it now, vibrations everything around her, the forest full of life and energy. It's weird, she decided, picking herself up, to be so aware of her surroundings, to feel all the little creature around her.

This is why, when she hears Rumpelstiltskin, she jumps. 

"Becoming a Dark One for Love!" he giggles, his skin greener and more glittery than ever. "And for nobody else but the Evil Queen. Oh isn't that hilarious!" 

So there's that. Not like there's a point in denying at this point. 

"She's not evil anymore, you know" she murmurs only, trying to guess where she can actually be. Not like she knows much about the Enchanted Forest but hey, with all that jumping she might as well try. 

"Well, why not let her becoming the Dark One, then? Your dearest Regina has more experience with dealing with this sort of magic, you know?" Rumpelstiltskin smiles. When she doesn't respond, he smiles some more and Emma can do nothing but sigh with annoyance. Or try throwing a fireball at him. She does, in fact, do the latter but the spell seems to be useless, the attack coming right through him. "Oh Emma Emma" he clicks his tongue as if she was an annoying child not, well, possibly one of the most powerful creatures currently alive. Weird feeling. "I'm only saying what you're thinking. I'm in your head. All Dark Ones are in your head right now. You only need to listen." 

Emma doesn't want to listen, not at all. But the voices seem clearer now, even though half of their speech doesn't make sense, the sentences cut in half, the words unfinished.  
It seems like it's going to be a long time. 

 

It is, indeed. The sun goes down and Emma tries to go to sleep, but the dreams don't come. She groans, her eyes unwillingly following to set on Rumpelstiltskin sitting on the nearest branch, looking far too amused. 

"Why are you still here?" she moans, and the man grins in response. 

"I could if you really wanted me to. But well, maybe you just don't like being alone in the forest. Brings childhood memories, doesn't it?" 

"If you're in my head, why won't you stop being an asshole and start being useful?" 

"Well, Miss Swan. We are the Dark One after all."

**Author's Note:**

> Oh whoa thanks for getting here, I guess? Please lemme know what u think guys.


End file.
